


Caught

by yosaffbridge



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Crushes, M/M, Muggle Technology, Teenage Dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 15:56:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11740326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yosaffbridge/pseuds/yosaffbridge
Summary: Harry and Ron try to watch something in Arthur's VCR and it doesn't turn out exactly how they'd planned.





	Caught

“No, Ron, it’s not meant to go in that way, you’re going to get it stuck!”

“Hang on, I’ve seen my dad do this a million times—shite.”

“See, you’ve got it backwards—here, maybe if I just give it a yank…right. Now you’ve done it. It’s stuck.”

Ron frowned, the tips of his ears turning red. “Well, I don’t see why my dad’s so bloody fascinated with these Muggle thingers anyway. Just looks like a black box with a hole in it to me.”

“I dunno,” Harry said, shrugging. “Dudley never let me use his. Not that it mattered, anyway; he broke it three days after he got it.”

Ron’s eyebrows shot up. “And your aunt and uncle didn’t run right out and buy him a new one?”

“Nah, they got him a new laptop computer instead,” he said, shaking his head when he saw the puzzled look on Ron’s face. “Never mind.” He looked behind them at the closed door of the tiny shed, suddenly very aware as he did so of how close he was to Ron; if he moved his head forward just a bit his chin would hit Ron’s shoulder. Ron’s broad, Quidditch-toned shoulder. Harry shook his head slightly as though to clear it and turned back to face the TV and VCR, glancing at Ron as he did so. “Are you sure your dad isn’t supposed to be home for a while?”

Ron nodded, and Harry thought he noticed a slight pink tint to Ron’s cheeks. “Yeah, he said he was going to some big raid, wouldn’t be back until late tonight. And,” he said, ticking each person off on his fingers, “Ginny’s with Luna and Hermione at that Arithmancy convention; Fred and George are so busy they hardly ever come round lately; Percy’s—well, I’m surprised he and the new Minister aren’t permanently attached at the hip by now; Charlie’s in Romania; and Bill and Fleur are on holiday for their one-year anniversary. Oh, and Mum never comes in here. She got attacked by a flying toaster once when she tried to bring Dad his lunch and hasn’t set foot near the place since.”

Harry snorted. “That sounds like Mr Weasley, enchanting toasters to fly.” He glanced around them for a moment, then turned back to Ron. “Where’s the remote?”

“The what?”

“You know, the—oh, I’ll just do it from the VCR itself.” Harry bent down slightly to see the buttons of the VCR better. “Maybe if I just try to eject it…damn. Didn’t work.” He was about to straighten back up when Ron’s face was suddenly right next to his. Harry turned his head the smallest amount possible in order to see him and tried not to hyperventilate.

“Is there some other button we could push?” Ron said, squinting at the VCR, and Harry told himself Ron’s cheeks weren’t _really_ turning a much brighter red; he was just imagining it.

Harry had opened his mouth to answer when suddenly the door flew open, causing both him and Ron to leap away from the VCR and spin around. They bumped against each other in the crowded space, and Harry had only a moment to take in Ron’s stunned expression before seeing for himself who was standing in the doorway. “Erm…” he managed to croak out, reaching a hand up to flatten his hair even though he knew it was pointless.

“Well, hello there, boys!” Arthur Weasley boomed, seemingly oblivious to their extreme nervousness. “Didn’t expect to see you in here, Molly said you were out—ah, I see you’ve been taking a look at my CVR! Trying to view a tape, are you?” he said jovially, before picking his way through the cluttered shed towards them.

Harry wanted to say something, but it seemed he’d temporarily lost the power of speech. Ron gaped like a fish for several seconds, then seemed to snap out of it as Arthur squeezed between them and bent down to peer at the tape half sticking out of the machine. “ _VCR_ , Dad,” he said as Harry shot him an incredulous look. “Erm, I thought you were going to be at a raid all day.” He looked helplessly over Arthur at Harry, shrugging his shoulders in bewilderment.

“Turned out to be a miscommunication. We’d been told an old Muggle woman had discovered an abandoned manor home full of Dark Arts items, but when we got there it turned out to be an abandoned magical portrait from the Dark Ages depicting a manor.” He looked at Ron and Harry in turn, grinning. “Quite funny when you think about it. Now, let’s see here—looks like you’ve got it stuck. No problem, boys, I can have that sorted out in a flash!” Arthur adjusted his glasses and went to work as Ron and Harry stared at each other in horror.

“No, really, Dad, you don’t have to—“

“That’s all right, Mr Weasley, we can—“

Arthur waved them off. “Nonsense, boys! It’s no trouble, no trouble at all. Just a little tug here…and get that over there…and…yes! There we are.”

Harry, who had conveniently decided that his glasses needed cleaning, hastily put them back on. Ron had his elbows on the workbench, his head in his hands, but straightened up when he heard Arthur’s final words and exchanged a rather terrified look with Harry. “You—er—you got it fixed, Dad?”

“I did indeed!” Arthur said, holding up the video cassette triumphantly. “Now, to put this in properly, so you can watch it! What did you get, boys, one of those adventure films?” he asked as he slid the tape neatly into the VCR and started it.

Harry was too horrified to speak as the film began to play. He wanted to look away, but he seemed frozen to the spot. He couldn’t even look over at Ron, although he could tell out of the corner of his eye that Ron was just as immobile as he was. “M-M-Mr Weasley…” he finally croaked, as the opening credits finished and the film started. But Arthur didn’t seem to hear him—he was too occupied with watching what was happening on the TV screen.

“Haven’t heard of this one…a library, hmmm? Is this some sort of mystery film?”

“Well—er—it—uh—“ Ron stammered.

“Rather a nice library, isn’t it? I wonder where that is? And such a friendly librarian, walking the gentleman over to the location of his book!” Arthur glanced at Ron and chuckled. “I daresay Madam Pince wouldn’t do such a thing!” Ron looked ready to throw up. “Well now, it looks like they’re going to some special section…hmmm, I wonder what she’s—oh my.”

Harry gaped as the librarian shook out her long hair, tossed aside her blouse, and shoved the ‘patron’ into a sitting position on a nearby table. When she started undoing his belt, Harry knew he had to do something. “Sir, erm, it—er—it…”

But he didn’t have to finish his sentence. Arthur rose back up to his full height and Harry instantly saw who Ron inherited his tendency to blush from. “Right then…well, that’s all fixed,” he said, brushing off his hands absentmindedly. “I’ll just—er—I do believe Molly said she’d need my help with the—er—carry on then, boys.” Avoiding their eyes, he turned and maneouvered his way out of the shed as fast as he could without tripping.

As soon as the door shut, Harry released a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. Ron rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands as Harry jabbed the pause button. “Bloody hell! Leave it to my dad to walk in at absolutely the _worst_ moment – and then he actually succeeds at fixing the sodding thing!”

“Think he’ll tell your mum?” Harry asked, glancing over at the shed door as he heard what sounded like laughter coming from outside.

“Not in a million years.” They looked at each other for a moment, and suddenly, both of them were doubled over laughing.


End file.
